CQ, AP ignore Boehner's use of "torture" to describe techniques

In an April 23 article headlined, "GOP Leaders Assail Proposals To Probe Past Interrogation Decisions," Congressional Quarterly referred to interrogation techniques that "critics say amounted to illegal torture" and quoted House Minority Leader John Boehner's (R-OH) criticism during a press conference that the disclosure of Bush administration memos about the techniques "provides a chilling effect on intelligence officers." The article also referred to "alleged torture." However, it did not note -- as Huffington Post writer Ryan Grim has pointed out -- that Boehner himself characterized the techniques described in the memos as "torture" during the same press conference. Boehner stated, "[L]ast week, they released these memos outlining torture techniques that was clearly a political decision."

According to Grim, Boehner's spokesman Michael Steel later wrote that "[i]t is clear from the context that Boehner was simply using liberals' verbiage to describe these interrogation techniques. The United States does not torture."

An Associated Press article similarly reported that "critics" say the techniques "amount to torture" and quoted Boehner's argument that the release "provides a chilling effect on our intelligence officers all around the world" but also did not note Boehner's statement that the memos "outlin[ed] torture techniques."

From Boehner's April 23 news conference:

BOEHNER: This week, we saw the latest example of the administration's disarray when it comes to national security. Too often, I think we're seeing decisions made on politics, as opposed to what's in the best interest of the American people.

They've decided to close the detainee base down in Cuba, without having any plan for what they're going to do with those terrorists, who are hell bent on killing Americans.

And then last week, they released these memos outlining torture techniques that was clearly a political decision and ignored the advice of their director of national intelligence and their CIA director.

And so, the bigger question is is what is the administration's overarching plan to take on the terrorist threat and to keep America safe?

I support the president's plan for what we're doing in Iraq. I support his plan for how we're dealing with Afghanistan and Pakistan. But there's a larger question of how -- what is the overarching strategy for dealing with the threat of terrorism?

I told the speaker and my colleagues in January, when I handed her the gavel, that we would not just be the party of no, that if we had to say no, that we would offer better solutions.

And you here know that we've offered better solutions on a number of occasions on the floor of the House and, frankly, directly to the president. And as we get into these next few months, you'll see us continue to work to be the party of better solutions.

Our health care solutions group is continuing to do their work.

Our energy solutions group continues to do its work.

My group on the savings and retirement security, we introduced a bill yesterday that would help Americans regain their savings and their retirement security.

But you'll continue to see us try to be the party of better solutions.

So with that, I'd be happy to answer your questions.

QUESTION: In regard to the so-called torture memos, do you think that President Obama should release the entire report, as Dick Cheney has asked?

BOEHNER: I think that there's clearly -- we received an awful lot of information as a result of -- of how we dealt with certain of those detainees that helped keep American safe.

And the concern about the release of the -- of the memos -- there are a number of issues. One is that I think it provides a chilling effect on our intelligence officers all around the world. I think that is -- it's unfortunate. I don't know how that's going to help keep America safe. Secondly, I think it only presents a small piece of the bigger story that should be released.

Obviously, we're going to hear an awful lot more about this in the coming weeks. But I'm hopeful that Americans will begin to understand, there is a bigger story here about what happened, what was done to keep America safe.

And the story isn't a partisan one. All of the activities that our country was engaged in were dealt with on a bipartisan basis. And I think you'll begin to see more and more of that in the weeks to come.

From the April 23 AP article:

At the White House, spokesman Robert Gibbs sought to underscore Obama's resistance to an independent commission two days after the president himself said such an approach would be preferable to a partisan congressional investigation into the questioning techniques that critics say amount to torture.

[...]

House Republican leader John Boehner, meanwhile, appeared to raise the stakes in a meeting at the White House, urging the president to release internal CIA and other memos evaluating whether waterboarding and other harsh "enhanced" techniques had succeeded in gaining valuable information. Obama made no commitment, according to officials briefed on the session.

At the Capitol, Boehner said Obama's release last week of Bush-era memos outlining the legal case for waterboarding and other techniques marked "the latest example of the administration's disarray when it comes to national security."

He said their disclosure "provides a chilling effect on our intelligence officers all around the world." He also said additional details, already made public, show that members of both houses of Congress and both parties were briefed by the CIA when waterboarding was used on prisoners captured in the anti-terror war. "And not a word was raised at that time, not one word," Boehner said.

From the April 23 Congressional Quarterly article:

House Republican Leader John A. Boehner slammed proposals Thursday for investigations into harsh interrogation methods used on terrorism suspects under the Bush administration, as a key Senate Republican accused the Obama administration of politicizing national security issues.

With leading congressional Democrats calling for either committee hearings or an independent investigation into methods that critics say amounted to illegal torture, Boehner, R-Ohio, said such probes would yield nothing new and might even make the country less safe.

[...]

Boehner said Obama is using the debate over alleged torture to deflect public attention from the economy. "I don't see a lot of value in looking back. The American people are worried about the economy," he said. "This is another sideshow."

Boehner said, "The war on terrorism was done on a bipartisan basis. Whether it was terrorist interrogations, NSA surveillance or the Treasury's tracking of terrorists' money, all this information was downloaded to leaders of both parties, with no objections being raised."

Boehner said Obama's decision to release memos detailing harsh interrogation practices in the Bush administration will hurt national security. He said the release, and the possibility that some of those who drafted legal opinions allowing such treatment might face prosecution, "provides a chilling effect on intelligence officers."

And he said, "I'm hopeful that Americans will begin to understand there is a bigger story here about what was done to keep America safe."

The disclosure of the memos, Obama's stated refusal to use the harsh techniques, and his decision to eventually close the Guantanamo Bay prison for terrorism suspects also drew Boehner's fire.

"What is the administration's over-arching plan to take on terrorism and keep America safe?" he asked.

Boehner reacted strongly when he was asked about whether anyone from the Bush administration should pay a price for allowing torture.

"We're talking about terrorists who are hell bent on killing Americans. 3,000 or our fellow citizens died. There were techniques that were used by Americans and our allies to help keep America safe. I'm not going to allow our professionals and our allies around the world to get denigrated because they were working to keep our country safe," he told reporters.